Joseph Conrad

(1857-1924)

Introduction:
➢ Original name Teodar Jozef Konrad korzeniowski .
➢ He was an English novelist and short story writer of Polish descent of Late 19th
century in early 20th century
➢ He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in the English literature of modern
period.

Life:
▪ Konrad was born on 3rd December 1857 in Ukraine, a Russian state.
▪ He was the only child of his aristocratic Polish parents.
▪ At 11 years after the death of his parents, he was raised by his uncle
Thaudez.
▪ In 1874, he started his career in British merchant marine.
▪ In 1896, he married Jessie George an English woman.
▪ Conrad was 36 when he left the merchant marine in 1894.
▪ In August 1924, Conrad died at his home of an apparent heart attack .he is
buried in Canterbury, England.

Maritime career:
In 1874 at the age of 17, Conrad left Poland to pursue a career at sea. he
joined the French merchant marine and later the British Merchant Navy
where he worked on various ships, sailing to different parts of the world. His
marine experience exposed him to the harsh realities of life at sea and
provided him with first hand knowledge of colonialism and imperialism
which would become recurring themes in his literary works.

Literary career:
Conrad’s literary career began in his thirties after he had retired from the
sea due to health issues. He Initially struggled to find his voice as a writer but
his experience at sea provided him with a wealth of material to draw upon.
His first novel Almayer’s Folly was published in 1895.
Writing style:
Conrad’s writing style is characterized by its rich prose and psychological
depths, narrative style cemented his reputation as one of the greatest novels
of 20th century.
➢ Impressionism:
Konrad is known as the master of impressionism.
A literary technique all about capturing the essence of a movement
like taking a snapshot rather than painting a detailed portrait.
➢ Ideal of personal honor:
To act in a way that upholds one’s values and principles even in
challenging situation. Conrad is content to let a character speak for
himself by his actions and to save his soul or lose it by loyalty or
disloyalty to a moral ideal.

➢ Symbolism:
Symbolism is very dominant in Conrad’s work. In his novel “heart of
darkness” the character Marlow symbolizes spirit of adventure and
love of knowledge. The color ivory serves as the symbol of greed of
colonizers.

Themes
➢ Imperialism
➢ Colonialism
➢ Racism
➢ Greed
➢ Alienation
➢ Human nature

Characters :
Conrad’s characters are mostly :
• Anti-heroic
An anti hero is a central character in a story who displays
unheroic flaws or characteristic associated with villains. They
 are realistic, lack traditional characteristics associated with a
conventional hero.
• Non-western characters
Conrad also included many non-western characters in his
stories such as African, Indian, South Asian.

Setting :
• Sea ,seaport, Islands
• Ship
• South America , the Belgian Congo, Russia, London and
Singapore.

Works of Joseph Conrad

1) The Nigger of the Narcissus(1898):
it is considered as his master piece. The main character
James wait is a dying West Indian black sailor on a ship
narcissus which is heading to London. It Covers the theme
of greed and human sympathy.
2) Heart of darkness (1899):
A chilling exploration of imperialism and the darkness of
the human soul set in Congo Free State.
3) Lord Jim (1900):
A complex tale of guilt and redemption revolving around the
enigmatic figure of Jim a young British seaman.
4) Nostromo(1904):
A sweeping epic set in the fictional South American country
of Costaguana, exploring themes of revolution corruption
and greed.
5) The secret agent(1907):
A political thriller that delves into the world of espionage
and terrorism in London.
6) Almayer’s Folly :
Joseph Conrad’s first novel published in 1895 by T. Fischer
Unwin. Set in the late 19th century it centers around the life
of a Dutch trader Casper Almayer in the Borneo jungle and
his relationship to his mixed heritage daughter Nina.
 7)An Outcast of islands(1896):
Joseph Conrad’s second novel. It is a classical novel. it is
more famous for providing T.S .Eliot with a line for his poem
“The hollow men”.
8)Under western eyes(1911):
It represents the life in Ukraine under Russian empire rule.
9) The secret sharer(1912):
A short story of around 40 pages. it is however probably the
most popular and most critically acclaimed of Conrad’s
bona field short stories.
10) The arrow gold:
A novel by Joseph Conrad published in 1919. it was
originally titled “the laugh” and published serially in Lloyd’s
magazine from December 1918 to February 1920 the story
is set in Marseille in 1870 during the third Carlist war.
11) The Rover
Last complete novel by Joseph Conrad written between
1921 and 1922. it was first published in 1923. the story
takes place in the South of France revolving around French
Revolution, napoleon’s rise to power and French- English
rivalry in the Mediterranean.

References:
YouTube channels
• English literature and linguistics
• Eng lounge.
• EngLit zone